THE Passport Office was yesterday accused of raking in as much as £5million from travellers desperate to ensure they do not miss out on planned holidays.

One couple told how they had travelled 360 miles to get their hands on a travel document for their granddaughter – further than the day trip to France for which she needed it.

About 90,000 travellers have become snarled up in horrendous delays and many of them have no option but to pay £55 extra to get their passport on the same day. The fiasco forced Home Secretary Theresa May to draw up emergency contingency plans that allow travellers with “urgent need” for a passport to have the process accelerated free of charge.

However, passengers who have already paid the fast-track levy will not be reimbursed.

It is clear that the Passport Office has made money out of this chaos

Labour insider

One senior Labour insider told the Sunday Express yesterday: “It is clear that the Passport Office has made money out of this chaos.”

There was still anger at the Passport Office in central London yesterday as frustrated applicants tried to get processed.

Businessman Andrew Theil, a 47-year-old Briton based in Hungary, told how even a fast-track payment was not enough to secure a promised passport on the same day.

He had flown back to Britain to renew his passport after being told it would take two months from Budapest where he works. He paid £128 to have it renewed on the same day.